Em's Time Strategies

(Time Management: Google Images)

• My planned schedule still looks good so I think I'll keep it for this next week.

• I will do my best to get ahead so I don't have to worry about deadlines 
• I will also do extra credit assignments as much as possible 

• The Myth of Too Busy by Tim Grahl
• This article was very interesting and informative. 
• I like the idea of prioritizing my time and I'd like to implement that strategy 
• Planning out my day and week is a strategy I already implement in my routine but I enjoyed seeing that reiterated in this article. 
• 4 Questions to Help You Overcome Procrastination by Peter Banerjea
• I loved the questions this article prompts you to ask yourself when facing procrastination
• I think this is an excellent way to dispel procrastination tactics I may try to implement while doing school work.

First Impressions on the Technology Aspect of the Class

I am not very tech savvy but I learn quickly and I'll do my best!

I'm familiar with some of these programs and tools. I'm sure I have friends that can help me if I need it. I'm still new to blogging but it's been pretty easy so far!

This online environment is unlike a classroom environment in the sense that I feel pressure to get everything done more than normal because I don't have a classroom to hide in. It's a little unnerving.

The only thing I think I'd like to improve right now is feeling more comfortable on the internet using these web based tools. I don't want to mess anything up but I know that practice and mistakes go hand in hand. Hopefully I'll get a lot better by the time semester ends.

(Tech Tools: Google Images)

First Impressions about the Assignments

I'm intrigued most by the storybook assignment. Since I want to eventually be an author, I feel this assignment can help me greatly in my quest to write an amazing book.

(Reading is Life: Google Images)

Though I've written short, fiction stories for other classes before, this class is different from anything I've ever experienced and I'm looking forward to completing it.

Extra Credit:
I'm always down to read new stories so the "extra reading" option is perfect for me!
I also enjoy keeping a journal and critiquing my earlier works so I'm also looking forward to the "famous last words" assignment.

Overall, I think this class should be interesting and entertaining! I'm excited!!!

Thoughts on Growth Mindset

I had never heard of Carol Dwek or her Growth Mindset talks before. I found her whole approach logical and easy to follow. I can definitely see where I myself have been taught to have a static mind or a fixed mindset over the years. I might not be at the extreme end of the spectrum but I don't think I'm where I should be. I'll be looking into improving that as quickly as possible.

Learning new things has almost always been easy for me. I pick up on new skills and techniques quickly and can improve my skills with little practice or effort. I know this because I experienced it over the years as a pitcher and as a clarinet player.
If you've read my previous posts then you know that I was a very competitive softball player for a long time. I was a good player, probably in the upper levels of skill for the sport, but I could have been better. I could have practiced more than once a week (and I only did that because my dad was paying for lessons and I liked my pitching coach). But I learned easily and was able to maintain my ability with little to no effort, so why try?

This strategy did not work out as well with band. In sixth grade, I was the best clarinetist in the elementary band. I learned the skills the quickest and didn't have to practice to keep first chair. By middle school I was in the top band but had fallen in the ranks a bit and by high school, I was in second band. I didn't like the feeling of failure but since I'd coasted on my raw skills for so long, I didn't know how to put in that effort to be better.
I did exactly what Dwek talked about the fixed mindset kid's doing, I ran away, I quit the band and pretended like it didn't bother me to do so. I blamed the hours that got in the way of my school work, I blamed the teachers for making practice SO unbearable. Now I realize I should have been blaming myself for giving up.

(Don't Give Up: Google Images)

My learning experiences at OU have taught me that I need to rely on myself rather than other people to help me out. I know I'm smart enough to figure out most things and I know where to find help if I ever need it but, being in a big environment where I don't know as many people has taught me to really focus and learn the material for myself.
I've also realized that I still suffer from fixed mindset. Often I'll catch myself putting in minimal effort on assignments to get the grade I want and nothing more.

I think I'd be very interested in learning more about the Growth Mindset this semester.  I feel like I can implement these skills into my own life and maybe even pass on something to my mother who's a third grade teacher.

The only class that I'm currently worried about for this semester is my Magazine Editing and Publishing class which apparently requires me to complete an internship over the course of the semester. I have never done an internship before and I'm worried that I'll fail at it. I'm also nervous about being out there in the world (it's getting a little too adult for me if you know what I mean) but now I realize that all of theses fears stem from that fixed mindset mentality. Maybe I'll implement the Growth Mindset and conquer this class and then, who knows? Maybe the world!

(On Top of the World: Google Images)

Introduction to a Competitive Introvert

I'm that girl that's quietly reading in the corner or being incredibly rambunctious with her friends. There's very little in between.

Since I was a little kid and my dad read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to me as a bedtime story, I've aspired to be an author. That's what has prompted me to major in Writing (specifically fiction writing). Hopefully I'll be able to create a world that young readers can get lost in just as I did and still do.

(#booknerd: Google images)

A little background to the title of my blog: I used to be a fast pitch softball player and I was a pitcher from third grade to my senior year of high school. I usually hate being the center of attention (due to my introverted nature) but, being on the pitchers mound was an entirely different and incredible experience. I loved the sport, my teammates and the non-stop competition. Softball was my life for a very long time. Not only was it a great way to get involved with people my age, it was a way for me to bond with my dad. I still carry that competitive nature around with me today.

As I was going through the college decision process, I had to make a hard decision. Do I go to a D3 school and play softball for four more years or do I go to a D1 school and give up competitive, fast pitch softball forever in order to focus on school?
I struggled with this for a time and then I visited OU on the recommendation of some high school friends. I fell in love with the campus and the people here. It's truly my home away from home.

After that, my decision was clear. It was time to let go of softball and focus on my career and my future. I have no regrets.

(The Best Place in the World: Google Images) 

I'm currently a Junior, I've acquired a leadership position in my co-ed fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega, and I finally got to bring my dog to college with me! She's a four-year-old miniature dachshund and the love of my life!

(Dottie)

This summer I got to visit my cousins in California for a week which was super fun! We were out there for the Fourth of July so we thought it only fitting to get light up shoes from Disney Land's Universal Walk to be extra patriotic.

(Me and my Cousins)

Just a few more things about me:

My favorite book series is Harry Potter but my favorite book is The Book Thief.

Halloween is my favorite holiday.

I hate fruit (yes, all fruit. Yes, I know I'm weird).

I believe Texas is the best state ever.

Country music is my favorite, I could listen to it forever!

My favorite scary movie used to be The Conjuring 2, but Annabelle Creation has since taken that spot. If you haven't seen it yet, you totally should!!

(Annabelle Creation Trailer: YouTube)

My Storybook Favorites

I probably spent WAY too long going through different stories on the list but I finally found some that caught, and kept, my interest!

I am Not my Brother's Sister

This story was by far my favorite (of the ones I read). I have always been interested in magical, fairy tale creatures and I know a little bit about changelings (I've only read about mischievous fairies that swap their sick babies for healthy human babies). I was intrigued by the title because I have a little brother and the thought of not being totally, directly, related to him freaked me out. I don't think this title gave anything away about the story but it definitely did its job and caught my interest.

The introduction was my favorite type of introduction! I love the creative style of being thrown into a story and quickly having to figure out what world you're in and what's going on. The drama element was key and there was enough of a cliffhanger to make me want more.
I found the random picture of the door rather distracting since it broke the flow of the text. This could be good for attracting reader's attention but I would rather picture the story myself than have a picture surrounded by text.
Overall, I thought the design was good. The smaller text made me happy because that means more words and longer stories! I absolutely loved the picture of the different colored eyes at the top of the page! It looked so intriguing and beautiful that I just had to read the story they were attached to. The picture of the Kerosene lamp just before the introduction started really helped set the storytelling tone and got me into the setting quickly. I could see myself using the design technique of using a picture at the beginning of my introduction to set my desired tone or scene.

Kerosene Lamp: I Am Not my Brother's Sister

Factory Boy

If I heard about anything like this topic before, it was a long time ago and didn't stick with me. I find the idea of searching for one's self whilst suffering from extreme memory loss incredibly interesting. My first impression of the story based on the title was that it would be about a boy that hid in an abandoned factory (similar to the movie, Hugo) or a machine that mimicked a young boy a little too well. The story was close to my expectations but had just enough twist to keep my attention. The introduction did well with giving insight to the rest of the story while also keeping an air of mystery. I immediately wanted to read more. 

Though the journal entry style is not my favorite to read, I think the author used it well for this specific tale. It accurately dictates the feeling of this lost little boy who doesn't know who he is or why he's there. 

The design of the page is simple and clear-cut. I like the simple white background with black text. It is reminiscent of reading a physical book and feels very calming to me. 

The picture on the front page of the blog contrasts with the almost serious nature of the story. I feel the author could have picked a more appropriate picture to better fit the tone they were going for. The other images used help to create the feeling of "strange" or "lost" which I think the author was trying to achieve. 

I liked the design and layout of the pages, it made it very easy to read and was simple to navigate, however, I wish there were also a button to continue to the next section at the bottom of the page so I wouldn't have to scroll back up every time. I think the only thing I would want to take away from this storybook is the white background with black words.

F. Child Case Files

This topic, "The Child ballads, formally known as The English and Scottish Popular ballads by Francis James Child" is completely unknown to me. Because I had never heard of Mr. Child before, I guessed wrong as to what the storybook was going to be about. I believed that it would be about missing children or gruesome crimes involving children. That being said, now that I have read the intro, which did a fantastic job of pulling me into the story, the title now makes perfect sense and is appropriate for this storybook.
I appreciated that the author laid out the introduction in a way that allowed me, the reader, to read a bit of the story first on the left side of the page and then put the explanation on the right so that I was sucked in and then got to see what the story was based on. I also liked the picture of  Scotch and the black background with white writing. The whole page put me in mind of an old detective film complete with saxophone soundtrack in the background. I found this fitting for the story.
The navigation was simple and easy to use, a simple "Forward" at the bottom of every page prompted me to continue into a fascinating world. I could see using this simple design and easy navigation in my own storybook eventually. I think it would help my readers a lot.

West Texas and Wherever my Friends are... My Favorite Places in the world!

I could talk about my favorite places I've vacationed in the past, but the place that holds my heart is the wide open, aired spaces of West Texas. Something about the flatness of the land and a view unobstructed by trees, mountains, or even hills, makes sense to me in a way I cannot accurately explain. I believe that's partly due to being born in Lubbock, Texas. West Texas is in my blood. I cannot wait to move back there someday.

(Flat Farmland in West Texas: Google Images)

Moving from Rockwall, Texas to Norman, Oklahoma really wasn't that difficult distance-wise yet, emotionally, it was a life changing experience. Freshman year was tough for me but, luckily, my sophomore year, I met some amazing people when I rushed Alpha Phi Omega. These people have vastly improved my life. One of my favorite places in the world is anywhere all of us can be together. 

(My Incredible Friends)